Aubrey

[psconn]

A few days ago I re-watched the Notre Dame game in which Aubrey kinda dominated ND on defense, hustle plays and breaks. Watching that, I speculated what it would be like if she could be THAT Aubrey every night out. I felt that it would be a season-changing development even if she was still coming in off the bench.

I just ran across a Geno quote in UConn WBB Weekly - “Aubrey’s like a 100 times better than she was last year...” What the heck would that look like?!? Even assuming a large dose of Geno hyperbole, that might make her the most disruptive defender in the country this season. Across the depth chart, this version of UConn WBB looks like its identity will be tough D and fast breaks... definitely a winning combo, and fun to watch.

How do you see Aubrey's season shaping up? Is she a starter along with the other 4 returners or a blast of nitro off the bench? If she doesn't start, is it Aaliyah getting shoved into the deep end to add more size to the front court? Or maybe Aaliyah will be primarily a back up for Liv.

I really NEED this season to start!

 

[DefenseBB]

Just to temper the enthusiasm.. it was a horrible ND squad...so bad in fact, even the coach gave up after the year...

 

[Alydar]

Just to temper the enthusiasm.. it was a horrible ND squad...so bad in fact, even the coach gave up after the year...

Further tempering - remember Williams also had a marvelous game vs ND as a freshman.

 

[southofnorth]

She also played pretty good defense on Sabrina Ionescu during the Oregon game. I could see her being a Kelly Faris/Gabby Williams player that guards whoever UConn needs shut down each game. If she’s developed significantly on the offensive end then even better. I could see this being her breakout year with more games like the game she had against Seton Hall. That said, her Achilles heel was really her lack of a consistent jump shot. So if that’s the biggest area of growth, that could be just as helpful as anything else she does.

 

[WFFL]

She also played pretty good defense on Sabrina Ionescu during the Oregon game. I could see her being a Kelly Faris/Gabby Williams player that guards whoever UConn needs shut down each game. If she’s developed significantly on the offensive end then even better. I could see this being her breakout year with more games like the game she had against Seton Hall. That said, her Achilles heel was really her lack of a consistent jump shot. So if that’s the biggest area of growth, that could be just as helpful as anything else she does.

Sabrina finished with 10 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and two steals

 

[donalddoowop]

Further tempering - remember Williams also had a marvelous game vs ND as a freshman.

A ND team that was a lot better than last season's ND team. Aubrey will be fine.

 

[Zinethar]

Just to try to remember the game at Seton Hall I re watched it today. They keep saying how it was close. Well it sort of was. But Crystal didn't play. Starters were Molly, Kyla, Meg, CW, and Liz. Meg looked like a starter and had a good game. Liz was OK but was rarely on the floor due to foul trouble. CW was pretty much useless and was not on the floor much. Anna subbed in but looked awkward and slow early but came around a bit as the game went along. Kyla was not a major contributor.Molly played OK but was not much of a scoring threat. Aubrey played extremely well and kept them in the game. Without Aubrey this would have likely been a loss. I forgot how poorly gelled the team was early last year. It felt like Seton Hall's starters were played UConn's bench and lost. That is not far from the truth.

 

[Carnac]

A few days ago I re-watched the Notre Dame game in which Aubrey kinda dominated ND on defense, hustle plays and breaks. Watching that, I speculated what it would be like if she could be THAT Aubrey every night out. I felt that it would be a season-changing development even if she was still coming in off the bench.

I just ran across a Geno quote in UConn WBB Weekly - “Aubrey’s like a 100 times better than she was last year...” What the heck would that look like?!? Even assuming a large dose of Geno hyperbole, that might make her the most disruptive defender in the country this season. Across the depth chart, this version of UConn WBB looks like its identity will be tough D and fast breaks... definitely a winning combo, and fun to watch.

How do you see Aubrey's season shaping up? Is she a starter along with the other 4 returners or a blast of nitro off the bench? If she doesn't start, is it Aaliyah getting shoved into the deep end to add more size to the front court? Or maybe Aaliyah will be primarily a back up for Liv.

I really NEED this season to start!

psconn, I've been drinking Aubrey's kool-aid all summer. I have her in my starting line up. I think she's one of the 5 best players on the team, at least right now. I was expecting a HUGE sophomore leap from her this year.
Then............Geno says that she's a hundred times better than last year, WTH?!? I had her starting before hearing this, now I'm definitely starting her. Why?.........because she makes plays!!

Last year, she didn't know the plays, but Geno could not keep her on the bench. He told her to just "go play". That's why they didn't run plays for her, they couldn't, she didn't know them. Her teammates had to tell her where to go on defense, as she was out of position on several occasions.

Well guess what, it’s a new day. This year she knows the plays. She knows what she's doing on BOTH ends of the court. A very strong argument can be made for Paige and Aaliyah to start. I won't debate that possibility. I don't think Geno will be able to keep Aaliyah on the bench.

I have no idea what Geno is going to do, but I do know all 3 will see lots of minutes this year. They're all play makers!! You can't keep play makers on the bench, especially in BIG games. Aubrey is going to be fun to watch this year. UConn's own "human highlight" player.

Because I'm not familiar with all of the top players in the BIG East, I can't predict who the 1st team players will be at the end of the season. I will say that it would not surprise me for her to make the list, either as a 1st team, 2nd team or honorable mention.

 

[Hoops66]

I remember thinking at the end of the regular season that the two most improved players on the team were Anna and Aubrey. And at risk of overstatement that they were playing as well or better as anyone else on the team. I couldn't wait for March Madness because that team was heading toward a long run in the postseason. They both showed that they belonged, and they were fun to watch. (I do hope I'll be able to watch in my area.)

 

[Cuango]

I still think Aubrey will be coming off the bench rather than starting, at least for the foreseeable future. She imo, is a real weapon that Geno will insert periodically to disrupt the other team. SWAT teams use something called a “flash-bang” grenade that disorients the occupants of the targeted house/building by the concussion and brightness of the explosion. That is how I picture Aubrey’s potential function this season. I think she has the capability to completely discombobulate the opposing team. She is such a force that I almost feel sorry for the other team. It cannot be comfortable to constantly be looking over their shoulders for Aubrey and hoping she is on another player. She (Aubrey) is so disruptive that she probably causes mistakes even when she is not directly interacting with a particular player as they are looking for her all the time! Maybe I am overstating it somewhat, but I truly believe she is a weapon for our team!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

A few days ago I re-watched the Notre Dame game in which Aubrey kinda dominated ND on defense, hustle plays and breaks. Watching that, I speculated what it would be like if she could be THAT Aubrey every night out. I felt that it would be a season-changing development even if she was still coming in off the bench.

I just ran across a Geno quote in UConn WBB Weekly - “Aubrey’s like a 100 times better than she was last year...” What the heck would that look like?!? Even assuming a large dose of Geno hyperbole, that might make her the most disruptive defender in the country this season. Across the depth chart, this version of UConn WBB looks like its identity will be tough D and fast breaks... definitely a winning combo, and fun to watch.

How do you see Aubrey's season shaping up? Is she a starter along with the other 4 returners or a blast of nitro off the bench? If she doesn't start, is it Aaliyah getting shoved into the deep end to add more size to the front court? Or maybe Aaliyah will be primarily a back up for Liv.

I really NEED this season to start!

It may be that she is 100 x better in the consistency department. That would cause trust to break out across the entire team! Beautiful Basketball all game is what I am talking about!

 

[Centerstream]

Just to try to remember the game at Seton Hall I re watched it today. They keep saying how it was close. Well it sort of was. But Crystal didn't play. Starters were Molly, Kyla, Meg, CW, and Liz. Meg looked like a starter and had a good game. Liz was OK but was rarely on the floor due to foul trouble. CW was pretty much useless and was not on the floor much. Anna subbed in but looked awkward and slow early but came around a bit as the game went along. Kyla was not a major contributor.Molly played OK but was not much of a scoring threat. Aubrey played extremely well and kept them in the game. Without Aubrey this would have likely been a loss. I forgot how poorly gelled the team was early last year. It felt like Seton Hall's starters were played UConn's bench and lost. That is not far from the truth.

I believe you have a typo. You meant Liv and not Liz,right?

 

[HuskylnSC]

Just to temper the enthusiasm.. it was a horrible ND squad...so bad in fact, even the coach gave up after the year...

Me thinks the coach gave up during the year. The announcement came later.

 

[HuskylnSC]

I still think Aubrey will be coming off the bench rather than starting, at least for the foreseeable future. She imo, is a real weapon that Geno will insert periodically to disrupt the other team. SWAT teams use something called a “flash-bang” grenade that disorients the occupants of the targeted house/building by the concussion and brightness of the explosion. That is how I picture Aubrey’s potential function this season. I think she has the capability to completely discombobulate the opposing team. She is such a force that I almost feel sorry for the other team. It cannot be comfortable to constantly be looking over their shoulders for Aubrey and hoping she is on another player. She (Aubrey) is so disruptive that she probably causes mistakes even when she is not directly interacting with a particular player as they are looking for her all the time! Maybe I am overstating it somewhat, but I truly believe she is a weapon for our team!

What a great nickname for Aubrey 'Flashbang'!!! I believe she will be an absolute disrupter to the opposition and for that my forecast is for her to be nitro off the bench this year. That is only because I expect much out of Aaliyah. The ingame chemistry must develop before we see who are the actual starters.

 

[Alydar]

I still think Aubrey will be coming off the bench rather than starting, at least for the foreseeable future. She imo, is a real weapon that Geno will insert periodically to disrupt the other team. SWAT teams use something called a “flash-bang” grenade that disorients the occupants of the targeted house/building by the concussion and brightness of the explosion. That is how I picture Aubrey’s potential function this season. I think she has the capability to completely discombobulate the opposing team. She is such a force that I almost feel sorry for the other team. It cannot be comfortable to constantly be looking over their shoulders for Aubrey and hoping she is on another player. She (Aubrey) is so disruptive that she probably causes mistakes even when she is not directly interacting with a particular player as they are looking for her all the time! Maybe I am overstating it somewhat, but I truly believe she is a weapon for our team!

Griffin had that role last season. I expect a much more polished team member this season. I expect her to have a much better understanding of both the offense and defense. Where she will stick out is in rebounding and in transition. Getting the rebound and getting the ball moving up court will put Griffin's amazing skills to full use. She was an excellent rebounder and is stronger this season. She'll start things with the rebound or she'll end things with a basket because she has the speed, the size and the athleticism.

 

[Steelerone]

This is going to be so very interesting which is why I think that we are going to see more substitutes this year than possible any other time Geno has been coaching. And it appears that there will be little, if any, drop off in the talent going out and coming in. Between the supposed improvement of Christine, Ono and Aubrey and the incoming class it's almost identical to when I waited for the next "Lord Of The Rings" sequel.

 

[Carnac]

What a great nickname for Aubrey 'Flashbang'!!! I believe she will be an absolute disrupter to the opposition and for that my forecast is for her to be nitro off the bench this year. That is only because I expect much out of Aaliyah. The ingame chemistry must develop before we see who are the actual starters.

I like it!!!

 

[southofnorth]

Sabrina finished with 10 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and two steals

Not entirely sure what your point is here, but I’ll respond with this:

1) 10 points on 4-12 shooting, 8 of those rebounds were defensive rebounds, and she had 4 turnovers.

2) Sabrina averaged 17.5, 8.6, and 9.1 while shooting >50% from the field so 10pts on 4-12 shooting is pretty good defense

3) I said she played good defense. Not amazing. Griffin was a freshman guarding the (at the time) future 1st pick in the WNBA Draft.

4) Though I don’t know the exact stats while Griffin was guarding Ionescu, there were some moments where Griffin made Ionescu look pedestrian (I don’t have a highlight reel of this, but I could probably find some of those moments if need be).

I’d say overall she did a decent job during her minutes in the game.

 

[Plebe]

Just to temper the enthusiasm.. it was a horrible ND squad...so bad in fact, even the coach gave up after the year...

It's been a while since I whipped this one out. Long overdue

 

[MilfordHusky]

This is Aubrey's brother A.J. She practiced against him all spring and summer.

 

[Skeets]

I like "flashbang". Let's make it stick!

 

[BobbyJ]

This is Aubrey's brother A.J. She practiced against him all spring and summer.

LMAO. If only he could get up in the air.

 

[hoophuskee]

Where she will stick out is in rebounding and in transition. Getting the rebound and getting the ball moving up court will put Griffin's amazing skills to full use. She was an excellent rebounder and is stronger this season. She'll start things with the rebound or she'll end things with a basket because she has the speed, the size and the athleticism.

I agree all the way. This is "Dennis Rodman" to a tee. Only that she is sane.

 

[CocoHusky]

@Alydar pretty much nailed the Rx for Aubrey this coming season: "a much better understanding of both the offense and defense". Her defined role for the team will be as the perimeter defender and chief disrupter. Offensively is where Aubrey has to do the most growth. Specifically she needs to become a better long range wing & corner shooter, help the offense out as a secondary ball handler, and being shot ready upon reversal of the ball. Better understanding of the offense will also require her to be more precise in her spacing and understanding of not only her options but also the options of her teammates. There were far too many occasions last year where Aubrey was in the wrong spots or flat out got in the way of the other UCONN players in the 1/2 court set. Aubrey logged 22 Minutes in the Oregon game so Geno is not afraid to use her in big games. The Oregon game is also a very good example of all the things than is keeping Aubrey from being a starter or a regular 30 MPG player.

 

[UConnCat]